#1 Family Orthodontist in Leawood: Do Braces Increase The Risk Of Cavities?

Metal Braces in Leawood

Straightening crooked teeth can have a profoundly positive impact on your oral health, as well as your confidence. Unfortunately, while highly effective, wearing orthodontic braces also affects your daily routines, like eating and brushing your teeth. By making dental hygiene slightly more difficult, braces can increase a patient’s risk of developing dental issues that result from excessive dental plaque, including tooth decay (the disease that causes cavities). Luckily, however, cavities are still highly preventable even with metal brackets and wires attached to your teeth. To help keep our patients’ mouths and braces clean and clear of cavities, our office takes the time to educate each patient about proper oral hygiene, and provides special instruments designed to effectively clean around braces.

The Birth of a Cavity

With or without braces, good dental hygiene focuses on controlling the buildup of dental plaque, which contains over 600 different kinds of oral bacteria. As the microbes accumulate on your teeth, some of them release acid (metabolized from sugar and other carbohydrates) that can destroy tooth enamel, making the tooth vulnerable to infectious bacteria.

Brushing and flossing your teeth every day, along with regular dental checkups and cleanings, is the most effective method of controlling dental plaque, bacteria, and the acid they produce. During orthodontic treatment, sticky plaque and food debris can cling to hard-to-reach places, like between your braces and teeth, and diligent care is required to ensure that your teeth remain clean and healthy.

Good Hygiene with Ceramic Braces in Overland Park

Besides a toothbrush and floss, Starting Point provides patients with case-specific tools and instructions to maximize hygiene during orthodontic treatment. An interdental cleaner will help you clean away plaque and food debris from behind and around your braces. Also, refraining from certain foods like candy and jerky will help keep maintenance simple. If possible, brush after every meal to minimize the amount of acid that oral bacteria produce. If you can’t brush your teeth after a meal, at least rinse your mouth with water, swishing it around for at least 30 seconds to dislodge food particles and neutralize acid.

About Starting Point:

With offices in Kansas City and Overland Park, Starting Point has proudly served patients and their families from all surrounding communities.

Starting Point Dental is the starting point for healthy smiles. Our mission is simply to be the best in all areas of pediatric dentistry and orthodontics in Overland Park and Kansas City. Contact our Kansas City pediatric dentist today.

Welcome to Starting Point Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, where we’re more than your average tooth fairies! We’re the architects of stunning smiles that light up Kansas City brighter than a firefly’s glow. If you’re on a quest for a Children’s Orthodontist in Leawood, Kids Orthodontist in Leawood, or a Teen Orthodontist in Leawood, consider your Indiana Jones-style hunt over! We believe orthodontic care should be as unique as your kiddo’s laugh. That’s why we offer a range of treatments from Clear Braces in Leawood to Ceramic Braces and Metal Braces. Got a case of crowded chompers or crooked canines? We’re the Crooked Teeth and Crowded Teeth Orthodontists in Leawood you’ve been searching for.
Family Orthodontist in Overland Park
And guess what? Our Leawood services are as budget-friendly as they are top-notch. We accept most dental insurance and offer interest-free payment options. Special discounts? We’ve got those too for our brave military families and those with multiple braces champions. From the cutting-edge Clarity by 3M in Leawood to the ever-popular Invisalign, our team is ready to add some sparkle to your smile. Let’s make Kansas City shine, one smile at a time! Request an appointment here  or call our clinic at 913-422-6699 and let us add some sparkle to your smile!